High Definition
by Guardian of Ice
Summary: Zim and Dib end up in a strange place, with even stranger people. What strange place is this? The real world. Rated for later chapters. Chapter 2 Up!
1. Once Upon a Time

Chapter One: Is this just fantasy?  
  
This is an out-of-nowhere kind of fic. Don't like it, say so. I'll be sure to dip you in acid and dump hot sauce on what's left. If you like it, let me know and I'll continue.  
  
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"You'll never get away with this, Zim! I'm really going to reveal you to the Earth authorities this time! They'll put my name on every last jar that contains your organs!"  
  
Having been shouting nonsense such as this for well near ten minutes, Dib resumed banging on Zim's front door. The sky was dark and the streetlights buzzed in the background, a firefly or two lazily ghosting past Dib's face. Inside on the couch, Zim sighed and shook his head. Would the pathetic wormbaby ever learn?  
  
The two had been so-called 'mortal enemies' for nearly three years now, and had just started their junior year in high school. Strangely enough, though, neither had been killed yet, and Zim had yet to find himself strapped to an autopsy table as promised. Dib was still the geeky, scrawny boy he always had been. Though, he had grown a little taller, and had taken to keeping his 'outrageous nonsense' to himself while around the other children.  
  
Zim had grown somewhat as well, though he had picked up a new nickname from his classmates. 'Stumpy', they so fondly called him. Shuddering at the thought, Zim hopped off the couch and peered out the window at the now cursing Dib.  
  
Outside, it had begun to rain.  
  
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"God dammit, will you two hurry up?!"  
  
Snapping impatiently at the two dancing figures on the Para Para Paradise machines, the brunette girl sighed in sheer annoyance. These morons had been occupying the damned machines for well over fifteen minutes!  
  
...Okay, so it was nearly the arcade's closing time, and they were three of the only six or seven remaining in the arcade. What did it matter?!  
  
"...Stupid wormbabies.. " Mumbled the girl, quoting one of her favorite Zim characters. Tugging lightly at the sleeves of her trenchcoat, she finally decided that right then, she'd much rather be home watching Invader Zim. The show was, after all, her new obsession. She owned all kinds of useless yet still priceless merchandise, countless recorded episodes, and music from the show (courtesy of Kazaa).  
  
Yet here she was on a Friday night, actually out of her house and attempting to have some physical fun, and these losers were killing it! Mumbling, she folded her arms.  
  
One of the two on the machines, a lanky boy, turned to sneer at her, ignoring all the targets he was missing on the screen. Sticking one arm out and under one of the sensors through the cylinder-shaped console, he made a grand display of flipping her the bird before waving his arm around under the flashing sensors in an attempt to rebuild his score.  
  
His partner, oblivious, was busy cursing the machine for no apparent reason. He, too, was waving his arms about uselessly, attempting to hit targets. His main problem was that his arms were too short, and he wasn't close enough to the machine. So now, his life meter was dangerously low, and he was annoying the hell out of the girl behind them.  
  
Outside, thunder rumbled in the distance.  
  
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Whipping out a glowing, blinking apparatus that looked somewhat similar to a television remote, Dib stuck his tongue out of one side of his mouth in concentration. Immediately he set to work jabbing buttons upon it in an attempt to unlock Zim's front door. After a few moments of fruitless efforts and some sizzling from the now wet controller, Dib lashed out with one foot and kicked the door with a curse.  
  
He found himself blinking stupidly, face to face with Zim, when it swung open. Zim's mouth dropped open, and his eyes immediately landed upon the still blinking metal box, one antennae-like thing upon it pointed coincidentially right at his chest.  
  
"AAH! You've come to murder me!" Zim screeched, and made a mad dive for Dib and the controller. Oomphing as he was knocked flat on his back into a still-growing puddle, Dib tried to shove Zim off while at the same time pry his hands from the glowing thing. The two cursed at each other, rolling around and trying their damndest to end up on top, therefore victorious.  
  
Finally able to pin Zim to the ground, Dib panted hard. Now there was only the matter of getting the thing out of Zim's greedy little claws. Zim glared knives and daggers, trying to clutch it to his chest and bite at Dib's fingers when they came near. Grabbing onto the box and tugging, Dib resumed his cursefest.  
  
Above them, an ear-splitting crack resounded, and a moment after, they were both illuminated by a flash of lightning. Only, this particular lightning bolt found it's way to the wet metal box; and in this, the two drenched boys.  
  
Suddenly, they were surrounded by a strange blue light as the pain of the jolt tore through them. Dib managing to keep his eyes open, he screamed as he watched the world around them fade to something different...  
  
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Able to hear the deafening thunder over the roar of the still-running arcade games, the brunette tapped her foot impatiently. The two had by now stopped playing and were just standing there atop the platform, grinning at her as if daring her to try and say something. But she didn't, just gave them hateful blue-eyed glares.  
  
Suddenly, from the nearby window, she found herself temporarily blinded by a supernova-worthy lightning flash. The lights flickered for a moment, and as perhaps half the power went out with an unnerving mechanical sound, she realized the place must have been struck by lightning. Glancing back to the Para machines, her jaw dropped.   
  
All around the outside barriers of the twin consoles were visible lines of blue electricity, dancing about and trapping the two wide-eyed gamers. For some reason, they seemed.. transparent. After a brief moment, the girl realized that they were vanishing, slowly but surely, right before her very eyes. Unable to decide whether to help them or not, she simply stood, watching as the two forms were replaced with two new ones.  
  
Standing on the left console, Zim shook himself off and looked around. His eyes growing wide, he stumbled backwards and into the main part of the console, breathing hard and fast.  
  
"What is this dimension of blinky lights that has swallowed ZIM?! Where is the pathetic Dib-human?! ...Who are you?!" All of this declared in one breath, Zim stared hard at the still open-mouthed girl. The girl looked as though she'd just seen one of those dead-humans... What did they call them... Oh, yes. Ghosts. She looked like she'd seen one, and raised a hand to point shakily at him, then to his left.  
  
Dib was also staring open-mouthed, but not staring at one thing in particular. The whole place seemed so much more.. proportionate.. and.. in-depth! Already calculating what could have happened, Dib swallowed hard and turned to look at Zim. Zim, who was already staring at Dib, thought for a moment before declaring, "YOU! This is YOUR FAULT! If you hadn't brought that.. thingymajig... to try and destroy me, we wouldn't be... wherever we are!"  
  
The girl's head hurt badly by now, from hearing the actual Zim's high-pitched yell. Studying them for a moment, her first thought was, 'Wow.. They're taller than they look..!', before this was replaced with enormous wonder and curiosity. Unable to help herself, she stepped forward and towards Dib, hand still out so she could make sure..  
  
She poked him. Once. Twice. Three times, before realization dawned.  
  
"Oh.. my... God... You two are actually standing here... I'm not dreaming..!" Slowly, an almost insane-looking grin spread across her features. Her eyes had lit up, and both Zim and Dib found themselves taking a step or two away.  
  
"Eh... Humanoid scum! You will tell the mighty-"  
  
"You're Zim! And.. and... you're Dib! There's a real Irken soldier standing right there! Ohmygod!" The girl exclaimed, cutting him off before he could even say his name. Clasping her hands together in either joy, thankfulness, or devious plotting, she blinked at them both.  
  
"Yes, yes, I am Zim, the mighty Irken... wait... How do you know our names?!" Zim demanded, pointing a finger accusingly at the girl, whose jaw dropped again.  
  
"I know everything about you both... You're.. well.. cartoon characters! And.. how are you both standing there..?!" She counter-demanded, returning the fingerpoint at them both.  
  
Dib opened his mouth to say something, but Zim interjected, "The great and powerful Zim, a mere... cartoon?! What mockery is this?!"  
  
Dib finally found something to say.  
  
"Zim, cut with the high and mighty act. We're not in our own dimension anymore." Sighing and rubbing his temples, Dib slowly stepped down off the platform, testing the tile floor as though it might fall through. Zim repeated the act, looking around warily.  
  
Dib swallowed hard and spoke again.  
  
"Let me get this straight.. Zim and I are... cartoon characters. "  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"And that means we don't actually exist."  
  
"Well, obviously you do.." She reached out and poked him again, just for good measure, giving Zim a sidelong glance. Zim looked as though he wanted to add in something more about his own 'mightiness', but refrained, staring hard at the two.  
  
"So what.. what do we do? I don't know how we're supposed to get back.." Dib's solemnly spoken words were followed by an ominous flash of lightning, illuminating the mostly dark room.  
  
Zim's eyes got horrendously wide at this.  
  
"If we're here.. Gir's still running my base.."  
  
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Squealing in excitement, Gir plopped down in front of a large, inviting-looking console, staring longingly at all the pretty buttons. Having shed his doggie-suit for the evening, he clicked his robot fingers together, tongue halfway out. He knew Master had said not to touch.. but... he wanted to make techno music!  
  
Reaching out, he jammed five or six of the buttons down, screaming with delight at the harmonious beeping that ensued.  
  
Beginning to press buttons all over the place, Gir was oblivious to the large screen in front of him that began to flash, "ERROR - SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED. COUNTDOWN: 1:00:00", and slowly counted its way down from the hour..  
  
"I'M MAKIN' TECHNO!"  
  
....  
  
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Zim dropped to his knees on the cold tile, only able to imagine what kind of chaos would ensue now that Gir was alone in his base. Gnawing on his lower lip, he vaguely realized that he wasn't even wearing his earthenoid disguise.  
  
Dib watched Zim curiously for a moment before looking helplessly back at the girl. Thinking frantically for a brief minute, the girl let her shoulders slump, diving after the only thing she could think of.  
  
"My name is Jin, and I'll be your hostess for the evening.." She mumbled, sighing deeply and pointing out the window to a beat-up Geo Prizm.  
  
"Let's get the hell out of here..."  
  
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Standing outside Zim's base, two teenage boys were busy examining themselves through frightened eyes. Both had been silent except for a few random squeaky noises for several minutes now, and finally, one of them found the brains to speak.  
  
"Dude... we're cartoon characters!"  
  
Around them, it continued to pour.  
  
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Yay! First chapter done... If you don't know what Para Para Paradise is, look it up. It's like DDR, but with your hands. You move your hands under the sensors instead of hitting them. Whee! 


	2. When Your Parents Are Insane

Chapter Two: When Your Parents Are Insane  
  
Yay! I was glad to see a couple of reviews on this.. Better than none, right? Yay for plot advancement...!!! Pardon my typos. ^_^;;; :: Has no spellcheck. ::  
  
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Looking around the parking lot slowly, Jin murmured something unintelligible under her breath. This wouldn't be easy, getting a green man with red eyes and the kid with the spikiest hair in existence out to her with the usual crown hanging out by their cars. Dib obviously had the same train of thought, being the scientist that he was. Zim, on the other hand, would have marched regally right out into the open, had Dib not grabbed his arm and yanked him back into the shadows.  
  
"Okay. I have a plan. A lame plan, but a plan." Jin turned to Zim, tugging off her beloved fleece hoodie and handing it to him. Zim, looking utterly perplexed, started at it as though it carried some strange and foreign disease. Fighting the urge to curse, Jin finally cleared up the mystery.  
  
"Zim, it's clothing. You wear it. Now, put it on before we get spotted."  
  
Zim stared for a moment longer before tugging the thing on over his invader's outfit. Blinking at the sudden shelter from the chilly night air, he found himself confused all over again as Jin started giggling. Dib, after a moment, began giggling as well, trying to cover his mouth with one hand to muffle himself. Staring angrily at the two hysterical figures, Zim stuck his nose in the air, pulled the hood over his head, and began to march out into the rain.  
  
Jin watched as Zim, clad in oversized grey hoodie, leaned against the side of her car, looking hopelessly stupid. Dib glanced at her and shrugged, following Zim's lead and heading out into the still pouring rain. Finding himself slightly annoyed as his usually perky spikes flattened against his head, he gave Zim a long stare before turning back to the now soaked redhead. Unlocking the driver's door, she smirked and shook her head before unlocking the rest.  
  
Zim demanded the front seat, and hopped right in, folding his arms and looking like a wet..green.. thing. Dib sighed, and slid into the back, shivering and wrapping his arms around himself. After she had started the car and turned on the heat, Jin turned to look at Zim. Then, she turned to look at Dib, now all of the sudden looking entirely amazed.  
  
"I can'y believe I'm sitting in a car with two of the coolest beings....ever!" She burst out suddenly with this, fighting an almost irresistible impulse to do a little fangirl squeal. The two males just stared at her, utterly perplexed by the fact that they were considered 'cool'. Zim opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it, watching the excited female with some interest. He would have to find out more about this 'cartoon' from whence he and the Dib-human had supposedly come. For a fleeting moment, he pondered on trying to reach Gir through his wrist communicator, but then he decided that he was quite content with the way things were going.  
  
Dib, on the other hand, made quite sure to examine every possible detail of this high definition dimension, taking note of the fact that his actions were more... limited... than they had been before. So, the possibility of him actually being a cartoon character didn't seem all that farfetched anymore. Now that he really thought about it, he had spent most of his life doing 'cartoon-ey' things.. His entire life seemed odd enough to be a storyline from one, and the thought of an alien doing all of the non-discreet and ridiculous things that Zim had done was slightly off the wall.  
  
Mumbling to himself, he stared out the window as Jin pulled out of the parking lot. Zim was busy fiddling with the dials on the radio, finding himself amazed at the difference in music. Jin didn't seem to mind at all, glancing over every chance she got. Tossing a glance at Dib in the rearview mirror, she found him staring at her scrupulously. Smiling at him nervously, she turned a corner and made her way into a residential area. Biting into her lower lip, Jin finally took something into consideration.  
  
Her parents were home, or at least they should have been. Her mind racing at a mile a minute, she turned the corner onto her street. 'Shit..' Sure enough, their track was sitting in the driveway. Inside, she could see that the television was on. This gave her hope, as her parents couldn't be disturbed while watching anything. Giving her new companions a quick glance, she parked the car and sighed deeply.  
  
Dib watched the seriousness spread over the girl's features with uneasiness. Realizing that he could be in danger now, he pushed up his glasses and waited for her instructions. Smacking Zim in the back of the head to give him a hint, Dib straightened and cleared his throat innocently. Finally getting the picture, Zim turned in his seat to stare impatiently at Jin.  
  
"Okay. I've got another really lame idea. But if you don't play along with it, we'll get caught. Zim, you especially need to be careful. If this works, we can get you a new disguise."  
  
Smirking somewhat arrogantly, Zim just nodded. A covert operation sounded rather fun, what with all the previous confusion. Opening his door and clambering out, he stood with his hands on his hips, making quite sure to look very bored with this place. Dib opened his door as well, climbing out slowly and eyeing the house with masked curiosity.  
  
Digging in her jeans pocket for the key to her house, Jin motioned with her hands for Zim to pull up the hood. Heart racing, she slowly inserted the key into the lock and turned, feeling the blood pounding in her temples as she pushed the door open. Since the couch was facing away from the door, all she could see of her parents was her mother's matching ruby hair, and her father's shiny bald head.  
  
Peering past her and at the television, Zim blinked curiously at the program they were watching. Someone was spinning a wheel, sections of it labeled with different amounts of money. Curious, he stared for another moment before he was roughly pulled into the house by Dib. The three stood there silently for a moment, before Jin spoke.  
  
"Uhh.. Mom, Dad... I'm home." Wincing at her own stupidity and wishing she'd just snuck past, she smiled nervously at her mother as she turned. After a moment of waiting for her father to turn, she realized when she heard a muffled snore that he had fallen asleep. Typical, but, now she had to deal with her nosy mother.  
  
Dib put on his most charing smile, and Zim, face hidden by the hood, waved a little just for the sake of doing something. Jin thought for a moment, turning her eyes upward and silently praying that this would work.  
  
"Honey, who're your little friends? ...And why does one of then have green skin? That's not healthy, you know." The woman returned Dib's smile, finding herself interested in meeting the handsome young man.  
  
"Uhm... foreign exchange students! The school selected us to house them for a while!"  
  
Blinking stupidly, her mother pondered for a moment, and tilted her head.  
  
"In summer?"  
  
"Summer program." Jin shot back quickly, but then smiled, realizing her tone had been snippity. Dib nodded in agreement, and forced an accent.  
  
"Eet ees good to be here. I am pleased to meet you." Pulling off a Russian accent rather well with his somewhat deep voice, he watched Jin's mother's eyes light up. Zim, on the other hand, did not speak, trembling under the hoodie for fear of being caught.  
  
"And what about your little.. uhm... green friend?"  
  
"He doesn't speak English." Another smile. God, she hated lying to her mother. Or her father, for that matter. Zim waved once more, speaking in his native tongue to 'prove' his lack of knowledge of the English language.  
  
"N'yet shikcha. K'tore nijao?" This was a rather rude insult in the Irken language, something about a 'flaming headed pig', but of course, Jin's mother didn't know this. Trying to hide his green hands inside the sleeves of the hoodie, he watched Jin's mother nod as if she understood.  
  
"Well... I hope that skin condition clears. I saw a boy with green skin once.. I think it might have been gangrene. Oh, well." Waving her hand dismissively, she rose from the couch and took a couple of steps toward them.  
  
"Do you need anything? I'd be more than happy to fix you a little midnight sna-aaack.. " Grinning and looking rather scary, she folded her hands in front of herself.  
  
"No, no, Mom, we're fine. Really. Uhh... I'm gonna go set up the guest room for them, okay?"  
  
"Of course! Blankets and pillows are in the linen closet! And, if you need me for anything, boys, just call for your Auntie Marilyn!"  
  
Nodding in unison so as not to anger the frighteningly cheeful woman, the two turned on their heels and quickly followed Jin up the stairs. Jin pushed open the first door they came to on their left, and groped around the wall until she found the lightswitch.  
  
The room was of medium size, the walls a mind-numbingly pale blue color, In the middle of the room was a single, king-sized bed, currently devoid of sheets. The digital clock on the bedside table read twelve thirty A.M, and Dib's jaw dropped. His father would kill him if he wasn't home when he returned from work! Well.. assuming he DID return.. His father had a tendency to be gone for several days at a time, and he knew Gaz didn't care one way or the other. Since it was summer, he didn't have High Skool to worry about. So, after a moment, the tension in his muscles faded and he let out a deep sigh.  
  
Zim, on the other hand, shoved his way int oteh room and stared at the clock in disbelief. They had been gone for only about an hour, but Zim panicked nonetheless. Who KNOWS what Gir had done to his base while he had been away?! For all her knew, there could BE no base left! Pressing an elevated area on the sleeve of his Invader's outfit, he jabbed a red button with his finger.  
  
"Gir! Gir, respond! Respond to your master!" Demanding this rather loudly, he stared frantically at his wrist when he heard nothing but static. Pressing it again, he mumbled curses in his own language.  
  
"Master! Yayyyy! I got me my taquitos now! ...Where be you?! I AM SO LONELY!" Gir's high pitched voice, to Zim's relief, poured suddenly out of the tiny speaker on his communicator.  
  
"Gir! Report to me the condition of my mighty base!"   
  
"Sayyy pleeeaase...!" Gir laughed insanely, causing Zim to wince.  
  
"...Gir.. please report the base's condition." hating to be lowered to the level of having to actually ask rather than demand, Zim waited impatiently for a response.  
  
"Everything is okee-dokey, Master! But..but.. I can't find you and I hear you and I can't find you! Ooh, look! Bucket'O'Chickie! MINE!" A loud crash resounded, and the communicator went dead. Both Zim and Jin staring dumbly from the doorway, Zim grinned sheepishly and shrugged.  
  
"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't kill each other while I'm gone, I need to make the bed for you two." Jin turned and exited, leaving the two boys dumbstruck. Both uttered the same words in horror, wide-eyed and in shock.  
  
"YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO SHARE A BED?!"  
  
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Oh, my. Aren't I mean? Lovely little itty bitty cliffhanger. If you liked it, lemme know and I shall bestow cookies upon you! Don't like it, stick a fork in a toaster, THEN tell me. You know where the button is. Please use it ^-^; 


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